Optimistic assumptions

Peter MacLeod writes about New York's 311 system as a means of ensuring responsive government. But while his article provides some interesting discussion about how government can best serve its constituents, MacLeod glosses over an assumption which can seriously undermine the strategy's effectiveness:

With 311 in place, road crews now take their marching orders from incoming calls. Sophisticated software plots those calls onto computerized maps, highlighting the most efficient paving schedule while allowing administrators to see problems as they occur. In effect, 311 provides those crews with real-time intelligence they could never afford to collect, allowing them to offer better, more efficient service.

New York's 311 users are becoming the eyes and ears of the city. By scrupulously tracking the incoming flow of data, the 311 system is helping government officials to set and reset their priorities. In this way, 311 is quietly becoming a force that stretches well beyond what advocates of more direct forms of democracy have dreamed: a permanent plebiscite on an almost infinite number of city issues...

As long as 311 is used in an uncoordinated way by citizens, it serves as a fairly accurate mirror of genuine need. Think of it as real-time petition or market. The greater the demand, the greater the likelihood of the city responding.

The problem which isn't addressed by MacLeod, however, is the potential that the assumed lack of coordination (and equality of involvement) may not reflect reality. And that may simply replicate existing iniquities among influence groups.

On one side, it's inevitable that some concerns will go underrepresented within the 311 system. Some groups will face more difficulty in accessing the system than others, while others will simply see less reason to put their trust in public authorities to address their concerns. And the latter presents a particularly difficult problem: a group which perceives the government as less likely to respond to its needs is bound to be less likely to make the effort to get involved in the 311 system...and if that system is then applied as the main basis for government action, then the lack of trust only becomes all the worse.

The flip side is, of course, that for somebody able to calculate the costs and benefits of calling in, there may be every incentive to engage in coordinated lobbying through the 311 system...again distorting the actual needs of the city.

Not that this means the 311 system lacks plenty to offer in connecting a government and its citizens. But its obvious vulnerabilities should also be kept in mind...and accordingly they should be used as a supplement to other inputs into the government's knowledge base, not as the primary means to evaluate what a population needs.

(Edit: typo.)